Mechanical Engineering Graduate Seminar Series: Prof. Carlos Hidrovo, Northeastern University, “Gas-Liquid Droplet Microfluidics: Fundamentals and Applications”
Abstract: Over the past three decades microfluidics has quickly morphed from an emerging field to a mature technology that is widely used in biotechnology and healthcare. One specific domain that has thrived extensively in its adoption and development has been droplet microfluidics. The ability to compartmentalize reactions and processes into multiple individual droplets has made these systems extremely attractive in multiple and varied applications. However, most of the focus has centered on liquid-liquid systems, where dispersed droplets of a liquid are formed on another continuous, immiscible one.This talk will focus on the relatively untapped realm of gas-liquid droplet microfluidics, where liquid droplets are formed in a continuous but confined gaseous flow. The fundamentals of droplet formation and transport will be explored. Due to the lower viscosity of the carrier fluid, these systems tend to operate at much higher Re than those encountered in typical microfluidic systems. As such, the role of inertial forces on the dynamics of these systems will be addressed. Assessment of the technology towards droplet-pair collision micromixing and digital sampling of airborne targets applications will be discussed. A specific example on the sampling and detection of gaseous ammonia will be presented. The talk will finish with an outlook on the future of these systems.Bio: Dr. Carlos Hidrovo is an Associate Professor and Director of Global Programs in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at Northeastern University. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Northeastern University, Dr. Hidrovo held professional appointments at MIT, Stanford University, and The University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award from the Fluid Dynamics program, a DARPA Young Faculty Award from the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), a Fulbright Future Scholarship (funded by The Kinghorn Foundation) in Australia, and an ASME Robert T. Knapp Award, among other awards. Dr. Hidrovo is an expert in the broad discipline of thermal fluid sciences (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer). His specific research interests lie at the intersection of multiscale and multiphase flow and transport phenomena (with an emphasis in microfluidic systems), surface tension interactions in micro-engineered structures, and electrokinetic ion transport in porous media for applications in energy storage, portable biochemical diagnostics, thermal management, and water treatment systems. He is also actively involved in developing novel imaging and diagnostic tools in these areas.
